Katie Taylor ended her boxing career by defeating Flora Pili via unanimous decision at a sold-out Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday night. Taylor retained her IBF and WBO light welterweight titles while capturing the vacant WBC belt in her final bout.
Controlling the early rounds with her jab, speed, and lateral movement, Taylor established an immediate rhythm against the French fighter. Pili made the third round competitive, but Taylor repeatedly landed the cleaner punches throughout the ten rounds. A tactical shift to a southpaw stance by Pili in the ninth round brought no breakthrough, as Taylor adjusted smoothly to secure a commanding victory with judges scoring the fight 100-90, 100-90, and 98-91.
The victory brings an end to a professional career spanning 27 fights, leaving Taylor as a two-time undisputed world champion.
In the welterweight co-feature, Paddy ” Donovan (16-2, 12 KOs) stopped Tyrone ” McKenna in the fourth round. Joe McGrail defeated Matthew ” Boreland (7-1, 2 KOs) at 3:03 of the fifth round in their super bantamweight fight. McGrail dropped Boreland with a combination in the closing seconds of the round. Boreland failed to beat referee Padraig O’Reachtagain’s count. The heavyweight fight between Dave ” Allen and Thomas ” Carty (11-1, 9 KOs) ended in a first-round no contest. Allen landed a right hand to the back of Carty’s head, sending him through the ropes and out of the ring. Carty was unable to continue, and the contest was ruled a no contest at 1:22. Emile Tiedt was the referee. Molly ” McCann defeated her opponent. The official summary recorded that ” McCann (5-0, 1 KO) defeated Sylwia Doligala by unanimous decision after eight two-minute rounds in their bantamweight bout. McCann controlled the fight with her pressure and work rate. The judges scored it 80-72, 80-73, and 79-73. Paul McCullagh was the referee. Paul ” Ryan also featured on the bill.
Taylor’s departure creates immediate movement across the light welterweight division. With the WBC, WBO, and IBF titles now vacant following her retirement, contenders across the division will move into position to challenge for the belts in late 2026. Matchroom Boxing and rival promoters will now look to construct new headline events in Ireland without the sport’s iconic pioneer leading the bill.
